Professor Pettit serenades accepted students
Although he concedes he may not have the best set of pipes, Professor Mark Pettit is somewhat legendary for his vocal styling. His songs are legal remixes of the classics, and his audience is his BU Law students. Pettit recently gained a fresh set of ears for his music: BU Law accepted students who went to the mock class of his first-year Contracts course.
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The case he presented was Sullivan v. O’Connor, a case in which a patient sues her plastic surgeon for failing to achieve the results he promised for her nose job. “The case deals with the question of the proper damages for breach of contract, and it introduces the concepts of expectation, reliance and restitution as possible measures of contract damages,” said Pettit.
“I chose this case because it has interesting facts, presents three possible measures of contract damages, and provides a good exercise for students in applying the three measures to actual losses,” he said. “Some students say that the song helps them keep the three measures clear in their mind.”
Pettit said he sings to the accepted students so they can see that studying law is not only challenging, but it can also be fun. “They don’t have to worry too much about sounding foolish when volunteering a point—since they cannot possibly sound as foolish as the professor doing a poor job of imitating Elton John,” said Pettit.
Related article: Professor Pettit featured in NPR's "Singing Law Professor Rocks the Classroom"
Reported by Elizabeth Ress